By Robert Morales

John Bray said he is thrilled that his fighter, Miguel Espino, is getting a shot at Kelly Pavlik's two middleweight titles Dec. 19 in Youngstown, Ohio.

But Espino's longtime trainer knows Team Pavlik chose Espino, who is not a heavy hiter, because it does not consider Espino a serious threat to dethrone Pavlik, who twice pulled out of fights with a much more dangerous Paul Williams because he said an injury to his left hand had yet to heal.

"We are very, very happy, very elated," Bray said. "we're going to make the most out of our opportunity. I'm figuring they are looking at him as a light touch. I mean, come on,
they turned down the Paul Williams fight."

If Team Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs) is taking Espino (20-2-1, 9 KOs) lightly, Bray said, "We're going to be ready to take advantage of that."

Bray said Espino has always been a fighter that has been put on the backburner in the grand scheme of things, but he said a good showing in this one could change all that.

"In the last couple of years things have been going better for him," Bray said of Espino, 29. "And this big break could put him on the map."